The Unexpected Arrival
by ConsumedByTheShadows
Summary: A teenager goes to sleep only to wake up as a completely different person. Younger, and with a different name, Adrian lives through another childhood. Follow Adrian as he discovers magic and supposedly fictional characters in his second chance at life.
1. Chapter 1: A New Life Begins

The Unexpected Arrival

Chapter 1: A New Life Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that comes from the Harry Potter Series. However, I do own any original characters that I created for this story.

Summary: Audrey fell asleep in her own room only to wake up in a different situation altogether. She woke up in a different city, she was a lot shorter, and she wasn't even herself anymore. What troubled her more than not knowing her family was that she did recognize a few other people around her neighborhood.

-There may be some slight slash pairings, but they won't happen until much later.

-This will most likely be rated T throughout the entire story.

 _-"This means that Audrey is thinking."_

It felt like any other morning to the young woman lying down on her bed. She was curled up underneath her covers and basking in the warmth as she relaxed _. "I don't think that I work today. Maybe I'll sleep in for a little while longer."_ Little did she know that nothing would be the same after she fell asleep once again.

It felt like only a few minutes before a knocking on Audrey's door woke her up. She looked around groggily and vaguely noticed that her body felt off. Suddenly a stranger softly voiced out, "It's time to get up sweetie. Your aunt Tammy is visiting us today." Audrey panicked for a few seconds before a person, who she still didn't recognize, walked up to her and picked her up. A kiss was planted on her forehead before the person spoke again. "You're still half asleep aren't you?" She didn't reply so the stranger lightly laughed.

Audrey shook in fear of the new person until she thought about how this man, that she could finally see, could possibly pick her up with ease. He looked to be in his middle or late twenties with dark brown hair and forest green eyes. A small smile was on his face as he held her. It clicked in a moment that she was smaller than she used to be and that somehow she was a very young child. After that revelation she was lost in thought _. "I guess I didn't go back in time since I don't recognize my new father… Did I die? Maybe I was reincarnated?"_ Thoughts such as those were swirling around in her brain while she was carried. She guessed that it couldn't be that farfetched since she often wondered about what could happen after death. She didn't know that her new father was moving until he carefully set her down onto the floor.

As Audrey looked around she noticed that she was now in a bathroom. Her new dad crouched down to her level and said, "Can you go to the bathroom like a big boy?" Shock coursed through Audrey's brain as she processed what that now meant for her. She, now he, replied with a whispered "yeah" before turning to the potty training toilet that he now noticed. Gulping in nervousness Audrey quickly thought about how he was not even a girl anymore and if he would have to stand to pee this time.

That question was quickly answered once his dad told him to sit on the toilet and turned around so he could have some privacy. Audrey did so in relief that he could take his time at getting used to being a boy. _"At least it won't be too suspicious of me if I act different. I'm what…two years old?"_ Audrey quickly relieved his bladder, wiped, and said, "I'm all done daddy," before pulling his tiny pants on and getting picked up once again. Audrey was held up to the sink and washed his hands before being placed on his father's hip. He was set down in a higher chair so he could reach the table and had a bib placed around his neck before his food was placed in front of him. The room was mostly silent as they both finished off their food.

As his father put away the dishes he started to say, "Okay Adrian. How about we go on a short walk around the neighborhood before Tammy gets here?" He nods at his dad while wondering at how his name still sounds somewhat the same and smiles up at him. Taking that as an affirmative Adrian was ushered outside and began to walk slowly alongside his father. It was around ten minutes in that they turned back around to start the short walk back home.

His father spent the remaining time cleaning little things here and there before she showed up. Aunt Tammy arrived at their front door nearly an hour later. Once she was let in the doorway she engulfed his dad in a hug and exclaimed, "Long time no see little brother!" Adrian's father responded saying, "It has been a while now hasn't it Tania?" Almost a minute later of nonstop hugging did Tammy let go and turn fully to face Adrian. He was surprised at her speed because one second she was at the door and the next he had a face full of fur. A large cat was now nudging its face into Adrian's neck and purring away to its heart's content.

Adrian fell onto his bottom out of sheer shock. As he processed what just happened the cat proceeded to nuzzle its head into his face. He hesitantly brought his hand out to pet the soft fur on the cat's head. Once the cat was done showing its affection it walked a short distance away and its shape grew back into the form of his aunt Tania. Adrian was still shocked at the event that had just occurred and was trying to come to terms with what just happened. Tania only laughed at what must have been a comical expression on Adrian's face before turning back to her brother. He only looked at his sister and shook his head slowly with a large smile on his face. "That look never gets old," she said while chuckling at them both.

Adrian stood up and stared at his aunt for a few moments. He seemed to be analyzing her, but both adults didn't notice the look since they were both caught up in their own conversation. Tania didn't look any different from an average person. She was wearing a black business suit that flattered her figure and made her look professional. She had the same forest green eyes as his dad did, but her hair was a slightly lighter shade of brown than his and pulled into a low ponytail. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for her surprising display of magic. It looks like she's a mage, but it wasn't as if she was wearing a pointy hat and cloak and waving a wand or a staff at people and yelling spells at them. _"Was that… magic!? That shouldn't be possible, but I can't deny what I saw only a minute ago. My dad didn't seem surprised at all at that display. He almost looked like he was expecting it from his reaction afterwards."_ His inner thoughts were interrupted by his aunt's arms picking him up and holding him on her hip.

Tania walked with Adrian on her hip and met her brother in the living room. She sat down on their loveseat and put Adrian on her lap. His aunt and father continued their conversation only this time Adrian was listening to them. Tania started off by saying, "I see that Adrian has grown a bit more since I saw him. How has he been doing lately?" Her brother smiled and replied with, "He's been doing fine. I've been taking him on progressively longer walks each morning, and he has been able to understand a lot more words when I speak to him. I think he has gotten toilet training down so that's a relief; but he'll probably still need to use it for a little while longer just to be safe." They chatted for around twenty minutes before his dad told them that he was going to make all of them some food for lunch.

The three of them ate heartily with a small amount of friendly banter between the siblings. After the two adults washed the dishes they walked to the front door. As Adrian followed them into the entryway Tania turned to him and said, "Bye Adrian. I'm off to work now, but don't tell anyone." She laughed at the inside joke along with his dad. Adrian replied with a wave and said, "Bye Tania. I won't." His aunt looked somewhat surprised at his speech and left with a grin on her face. Once his dad finished waving he hugged Adrian and spoke to him saying, "You can pronounce her name now. That's great!" He let go of his son and told him that it was nap time for his little kit.

Adrian went along with it, but was confused at the kit comment. _"It could be that my dad can also transform into an animal… Maybe he's a mage as well?"_ He figured that this new life wasn't a dream since it felt very real; but if it was a dream then he wouldn't mind if he never woke up. He was soon lulled to sleep by the warm blankets he was laying on and the soothing music that came on as soon as his head touched his pillow. Adrian's father left with a smile on his face when his son fell asleep without any trouble. A few tears left his eyes at the thought that maybe his son can move on from their loss. He sat in his recliner with his head in his hands once the memories of his late wife surged through him. He thought to himself that maybe he could use a little rest as well…


	2. Chapter 2: Unanswered Questions

Chapter 2: Unanswered Questions

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Harry Potter Series. However, I do own any original characters that I made for this story.

-This might turn out to contain slight slash pairings, but it would take place in the far future.

 _-"This means that Adrian or anyone else is thinking."_

Adrian found out from his dad that they hadn't seen Tania for over a month before she visited them the last time. Because of this they set up a schedule for her to visit them twice a month for now and slowly add more days in as time goes on. With his aunt over more often Adrian quickly became used to his aunt's sudden transformations into what he could now identify as a lynx. When he questioned his aunt on how she did that he was met with an amused silence. Seconds later Tania answered him saying, "You'll find out when you're older." Adrian knew he could wait, but he didn't know for how long he'd have to. He ended up focusing on different questions like how old he was, what his father's name was, or if Tania and his dad could do other things with their magic. He kept his questions unvoiced for now. He knew they would be answered in time.

It turned out that Adrian was about two and a half years old when he first woke up into his new life. He looked into the mirror in the bathroom a day after he became a toddler and found out that he has the same dark brown colored hair as his dad as well as the same forest green eyes that both his aunt and father have as well. When his third birthday came around on July 8th he was happy that it was a small affair that consisted of his aunt visiting them while they played at one of the local parks. In the middle of being pushed higher while on a swing Adrian briefly overheard Tania saying, "Really Nate? How do you have the time to do all of that right now?" Nothing else was heard by Adrian. He simply marveled over the fact that this was the first time that he heard anyone say his dad's name.

After he was done playing they ate the food that they brought in their car at a picnic table. Once they finished with that they all chatted for a short while and later headed off to get some ice cream. It was a simple yet satisfying gift for the now three year old. While it may seem surprising that he was so carefree his actions still make sense. Although he does have his memories from his past life he still has the childlike mentality of a three year old.

At the age of four Adrian decided that he could get away with talking a bit more maturely and took advantage of that. He didn't speak in short sentences as much and tried to show that he expanded his vocabulary by listening to the words his dad said and using them in his sentences. His father took it all in stride when his son suddenly became a lot more vocal than in the previous year. He only thought that it helped them to understand each other better and left it at that. This gave Adrian a new freedom of choosing what they could do during the day.

For the second time this week Adrian chose where they would take their daily walk. This time he took a turn on the sidewalk that led to a different direction that they normally didn't go towards. He happily strode without a care in the world beside his father in the hopes that they might see something different. Adrian is a curious little kid after all. Half an hour passes before they come across a small park. He looks to his dad for approval and receives a nod and a shooing motion towards the swings. Nate tells him before he leaves that, "I know you want to play on the swings so go on, but not for too long. We still want to come back from the library at a decent time right?" That may seem like an odd statement seeing that it was around ten o'clock in the morning, but Nate and his son tend to spend hours upon hours looking through books.

At his age Adrian couldn't pick out the kinds of books that he would have normally gone for yet. To avoid suspicion he took to browsing the many aisles and writing titles down on a small notepad. Instead of reading the books for adults he sat down beside his father and read books for kids by himself. He also had Nate read the age friendly books to him in areas that were void of other readers so that they wouldn't disturb anyone. On most of the days that they went to the library Nate and Adrian would stay for a few hours, go out for a late lunch, and come back for a few more hours after that. Adrian knew of their tendencies so he only nodded excitedly before hurrying over to the swing set.

As Adrian ran to the swing he took no notice of his surroundings. He plopped down onto the seat and started to pump his legs to move the swing himself. He was quite proud that his small body was large enough for him to do that on his own now. Once he was swinging higher he saw a small child that was sitting in the shade of a nearby tree around twenty feet away from him. As Adrian came to a halt he got off the swing and slowly approached the lone child in the hopes of not scaring him off. He didn't see an adult anywhere around the park and was concerned that the kid might have been lost.

The kid in question didn't notice that Adrian had stopped beside him. He used the moment of silence to analyze the boy. To him it looked like the small child was watching out for something in particular. The expression on his face didn't suggest that he was playing a simple game of hide and seek either. It was more like he was afraid that something utterly horrible would happen to him if he were to be spotted by a specific person. He looked the kid over and saw that he wore baggy clothing that was much too big for his frame. He also saw that the kid had a pair of glasses that sat upon his nose.

Adrian figured that he did enough analyzing and gently tapped the kid on the shoulder. He noticed that a visible flinch was produced from the brief contact. The child instantly swung around while putting his arms out in front of him. Adrian felt shock course through his body while thinking, _"It's as though he expects me to hit him. I wonder who he thinks I am…"_ A few seconds pass before the young boy opens his eyes to take a look at the person who approached him.

The boy lowered his arms as soon as he realized that Adrian wasn't who he thought he was. He still looked like he was nervous and might bolt away as soon as he made any fast movements. "Hey there," Adrian softly spoke. "I'm Adrian. What's your name?" He made sure to keep his sentences short and tried to look as friendly as possible. Adrian thought, _"It wouldn't do if I scared him off. I have to find out his situation before I take any actions."_ The boy went from scared to surprised in that moment.

The kid only looks at Adrian in shock and with a little bit of suspicion. He thinks, _"Someone is actually talking to me? I don't know him though. Maybe Dudley put him up to this."_ He inches away from the unknown kid only to bump against the tree that he was hiding behind. Sweat begins to bead down his neck in his nervousness. When Adrian does nothing but smile at him he forces out a sigh and goes along with it. "Hey, I'm Harry." Harry expects something to happen, but nothing quite like this. Adrian gently grabs his hand and asks him if he was okay.

No one ever asked if Harry was okay before. His Aunt and Uncle definitely don't care for him while his cousin was starting to follow in his parents' footsteps. Thinking that Adrian must not know his family he replied, "No, not really," and looked to the ground. At that reply Adrian pulled Harry with him, with little resistance, as he walked away from the park to the bench that his father sat at. Nate looked up from his notebook once he heard the approaching footsteps. A familiar greeting was on his lips before he stopped in surprise at the extra child in his line of sight.

"Hey Adrian did you make a new friend?" Nate smiled at the two boys as they walked up to the bench that he sat on. "I hope so. His name is Harry," Adrian replied while glancing back at the boy. He hoped that Harry would mention that something was wrong now that his dad was here.

Nate nodded before checking his watch. "Well it's about time to head back home soon. Did you want to plan a day to play with him again?" Nate looked at both of the boys and noticed that Harry gained a slightly panicked look before letting out a loud, "Wait!" Nate and Adrian patiently waited for Harry to continue speaking while Harry looked embarrassed at his outburst.

He began to fidget for a bit before continuing at a much lower volume. "Could I come with you both?" Harry knew that his request would be turned down. He didn't want to explain his situation and knew that he would have to continue hiding throughout the neighborhood on his own. Harry's downward spiraling thoughts came to a halt once he heard Nate say, "I don't see why not. As long as your parents are fine with it then we don't mind." Harry heard Adrian excitedly say, "Thanks dad! I hope you like visiting the library Harry, because we sure do," before being pulled with the boy towards his home. Harry was shocked that he got to walk with them back to their house. He couldn't believe that these people didn't turn him away. _"Maybe things will be different from now on,"_ Harry thought with a smile on his face. Little did he know how right he would be.


	3. Chapter 3: Helping A Friend

Chapter 3: Helping a friend

Disclaimer: Same as the first two chapters

-There will most likely be swearing throughout the story

 _-"Someone is thinking"_

Adrian's POV

The walk back to our house was silent except for the occasional happy humming sounds that I couldn't help but to utter. I was in a good mood and I definitely showed it. Thinking about why I was happy led to me turning my head towards Harry to see how he was taking this. I was delighted to see the small smile that graced his face. Seeing that, I happily trudged onward towards our first destination. I'm happy that he was fine with the sudden change of plans. _"Maybe we can be friends after this. It would be great to find someone that's technically around my own age to talk to."_

We made it back to my house in what felt like no time at all. I looked at Harry to see if he was comfortable with being brought into what was basically a stranger's house. It was odd but it seemed like he was a lot less tense now that we were indoors. _"Whatever was lurking outside must have scared him pretty badly if he was this happy as soon as our door shut."_ I walked further into the house, but I didn't take my shoes off since we were planning on leaving fairly soon.

"Hey Harry we're going to head out to the library in a couple minutes. Did you want a snack or drink before we go?" Harry was starting to shake his head in a negative motion before his growling stomach gave him away. A small blush covered his cheeks as he looked like his body betrayed him with that lone sound. I let out a light laugh before saying, "I'll take that as a yes." He meekly nodded his head before following me into our kitchen. My dad just grinned at our antics before heading off to the restroom.

Once we were in the kitchen I gave a dramatic sweeping motion with my hand towards our fridge and pantry. "We have plenty of snack foods like yogurt, chips, some fruits and vegetables, or different kinds of crackers." I pulled out some saltine crackers from the pantry along with some strawberries and milk before settling down at the lone table in the room. While pouring the milk into a clean cup that my dad left for me I told him, "You can help yourself to anything you find. If you can't reach something my dad or I can try to grab it for you." With that said I started to slowly munch on my crackers.

Thirty seconds passed before Harry sat at the table with an apple juice box, cucumber slices, and some animal crackers. We ate and drank our fill before putting the food back and heading for the hallway. I motioned for him to follow me as we went by the entryway and continued onward. "This is one of our bathrooms. If you have to go then you should probably do that now," I said while pointing at the aforementioned room. Harry nodded before walking into it and shutting the door.

I waited by the front door with my dad until we saw Harry making his way over to us. With Harry in tow we went into the garage and left for the library in our car. The drive took around forty minutes before we got there. The reason that we go that far for a library instead of visiting a closer one is that my dad and I found it to be the best one in the area. I recently found out that my dad uses the library for his research which he needs for his job. I'm still not clear on what he does with it though. Because of his job I was lucky enough to not need a babysitter or go to a daycare center during the day. I still cringe at the thought of staying around large groups of small children for hours at a time.

As we walked through the doors that led into the library I told my dad that we would be in the game zone. Nate looked at the two of us before nodding. "Come get me if you need anything. I'll be in the non-fiction section that focuses on genetics like last time." After saying that he headed off in the direction that held the books that he needed. Turning to Harry, I noticed that he looked anxious about something while he was looking around the building. _"He might not be used to being in such a large building yet."_ With that thought I took his hand and led the way to the game zone.

Our time in the game zone was spent with me teaching Harry to play checkers and getting to know each other a little better. We spoke about our favorite colors, what kinds of animals we liked, and other various questions. Eventually I steered the conversation towards what had happened earlier in the day. "So Harry, could you tell me what had you so spooked when you were in the playground today?" I sat slightly forward as I awaited his response.

He worried his bottom lip and looked away before whispering something that I couldn't make out. "Could you repeat that? I didn't hear you." He looked down and sighed before looking directly at me. "I was hiding from my aunt Marge. She's been walking her dog off and on today and it really doesn't like me." He hung his head in shame to avoid my face. _"I bet he's going to laugh at me. Everyone else did when Dudley told people how I ran from the tiny dog at the party a few months ago."_ To his surprise the only response I made was the slight widening of my eyes.

I was in shock at hearing another familiar name. The pieces were starting to fit together with that small bit of information. I stared at him while I compared the similarities of the Harry Potter series with the kid in front of me. _"So here I am with a little boy named Harry who hasn't given me his last name. He has black messy hair and green eyes with glasses perched on his nose. His clothing looks baggy on him as if they weren't his to begin with. He has an aunt named Marge that likes to travel around with her dog."_ The possibility of this actually being the famous boy-who-lived was further heightened by the fact that I saw proof that magic exists already.

There was a moment of silence before I responded back to him. I felt somewhat guilty to see that he was fidgeting in his seat. _"I must have kept him waiting for too long."_ With that thought in mind I was quick to answer him. "So you don't like dogs then? Or maybe it's just your aunt's that you don't like." With a look of relief plainly shown on his features he calmed down. "I don't know… I've only seen the dogs that she brings over every time she visits us. It's mostly been one dog that she takes with her and it hated me from the start." I suddenly got an idea and decided to act on it.

"Do you know what kind of dog it was? I'm curious now." Harry thought about it for a second before replying. "I think he's a bulldog, and his name is Ripper. She's had him for maybe half a year now, and I'm pretty sure he's her new favorite dog." Well that just sealed the deal for me. I'm now ninety-five percent sure that this boy in front of me is the protagonist in both the movies and the books of Harry Potter.

" _What can I do_ _with this new information though? Maybe I could help him, but how? There's no way that the Order would let me take him away from that house permanently."_ If I suddenly knew about his past then that would open up all sorts of problems. There's the fact that I shouldn't know anything about the wizarding world. The only things that I have been exposed to were my aunt's transformations as well as my dad randomly summoning books to his hands at home. That being said, I can't let my dad or anyone else know that I am familiar with his background story. Not even Harry knew how his life was before he was dropped off at the Dursley's house aside from the odd dreams that he sometimes has.

I knew that the only way to go forward was to play it safe for now. I can be his friend and help him out in my own way. I'm not going to go too far and say that I'll be a badass mage right away and become a major player in the upcoming war. There's no way to be sure that I will be better at using magic just because I'm older mentally. If I want to be of any help I'll have to be creative as well as make sure to use my former knowledge to my advantage. I grinned at Harry and began to plan for the future.

As I gained the last red playing piece from Harry I knew that I was in for some major changes to my life. We began a new game and laughed at each other's mock serious faces. After a moment I found a clock on the wall and saw that we'd have just enough time to finish one more game before Nate would take us out to eat. Going here and eating out twice a week was a tradition that we always partook in, and it seems like Harry is being brought into the fold this time. _"Hopefully I can manage to take him with us every time if he's up for it."_ Looking at how happy he was to be included made me cement the thought that I wanted, and needed, to help him. For now I'll focus on being his escape from his relatives and later, well, we'll see now won't we?


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting His Family

Chapter 4: Meeting his family

Disclaimer: Same as before.

 **Author Note:** Adrian wasn't four years old when he first met Harry. He turned six a few days beforehand. Harry is still five, but almost six right now.

Nate drove the three of us back to our house once we left the library. It was about 5:30 in the evening, which is when we usually make it back home. We all walked inside and I took Harry into our kitchen again. We sat at the table after we both nabbed a few more snacks and a drink. "So, what's your plan for today?" Harry looked slightly confused at my statement. I elaborated by saying, "Did you want to hang out with me more today, or are you expected back home by your parents?"

Harry looked as though he was deep in thought. A panicked look crossed his features as he dropped his shoulders in a defeated expression. "I haven't been home all day today because of Marge's dog. I think that my aunt and uncle might get angry with me if I don't check in with them." I nodded in understanding and tried to think up a plan that might help him out. "Did you want me and my Dad to take you back to your house then? If you want to stay longer I can ask if it's okay with him. Then when we reach your house we can explain in person what you wanted to do."

Harry vigorously nodded his agreement before blushing again at his obvious enthusiasm. I laughed at his sudden shyness before telling him that we should go to ask Nate if he could stay longer. I took Harry with me to the room that Nate calls his study and told him that Harry still wanted to play at our house. Nate grinned at us before saying, "You can stay if you want to Harry. Do I have to call your parents to let them know where you are, or would they want to see us so they know who we are first?" He answered saying that his aunt and uncle would want to see us all before letting him stay here.

With that question answered we all traveled to the front door and I asked Harry how far away his house was. "It isn't too far from the park that we were in today." He fidgeted as he thought of why he was in the park in the first place. My dad answered him by saying that we could just walk there since he remembered the way to the park. Then Harry could point out where his house was after that. We all agreed to that, and set off to meet Harry's 'normal' family.

It took us the same amount of time to reach the park, and a short ten minutes later and we were standing in front of his house on Privet Drive. Nate rapped on the door a few times before we heard soft footsteps getting closer to us. I looked at Harry to see that he had a scared expression on his face. I frowned at that and stepped slightly in front of him to try and block anyone's view of him from the doorway. Surprisingly a small boy around our age opened the door rather than one of the adults in the house.

"Who are you guys?" The kid looked confused to see us until he spotted Harry standing slightly behind me. I waved at him and said, "Harry wants to play at my house longer today. Could you go get your parents?" He nodded, left the doorway, and came back with his mom in tow. Petunia looked confused to see us there as well until Dudley told her that Harry was with them.

She spotted him and a slight frown could be seen on her face soon after. "Where were you today Harry? Marge wanted you to help groom her dog after lunch." Harry looked panicked at that statement and became a stuttering mess. Seeing him so shaken up, I linked my arm between his and played the act of a very enthusiastic kid.

I plastered a huge smile on my face and began my story. "He was with me Miss. We met up earlier today and played lots of games!" I hugged Harry after that, which helped him to calm down a bit. "I hope that we can be friends now." Harry had a large smile of his own after I said that.

It didn't look like Petunia knew what to say to that. Nate took over when the silence dragged on for a bit longer than necessary. "So Adrian here wants to have Harry come over to our place and maybe have his first sleepover. You'd like that now, wouldn't you guys?" We both nodded happily at my Dad before turning our hopeful faces towards Harry's aunt.

She hesitated for a moment before giving in. It honestly went over easier than I expected. _"I bet that she couldn't come up with a valid excuse to make him stay."_ She let us come in with a pinched expression on her face, told Harry to go grab some pajamas and a fresh change of clothes, and scurried out of sight. I was left in the entryway with my Dad at my side after she left. We silently stood there until Dudley sneaked his way up to me.

"So I heard you're Harry's friend now?" He peered at me with a look of honest curiosity as he waited for me to speak. "Yeah I met him today and we had a great time." He gained a confused expression before answering. "How did you find him anyways? We didn't see him all day after aunt Marge came to visit." I frowned at the reason for Harry's anxiety for most of the day.

"Well my Dad and I were taking a walk and I found him after I stopped in a park. I talked to him for a bit before we left to go back to my house, and then the library. Thinking back on it, Harry probably shouldn't have just gone away with us that quickly… We should have introduced ourselves to your parents first since we were practically strangers at the time." I rubbed the back of my neck at the admission and looked away from him.

Harry barreled down the stairs with a small backpack on his back before stopping directly in front of me. His abrupt entrance startled both of us, and whatever Dudley was going to say was forgotten in that moment. The three of us left the Dursley household shortly after and started the walk back to my house. _"Step one complete. Harry is allowed to come over to my house now. This should make it easier on him in the future."_ I thought that there were some inconsistencies with his home life, but I figured that I could try to look into it at a later time.


	5. Chapter 5: Twenty Questions

Chapter 5: Twenty Questions

 **Author Note** **:** It's been such a long time since I've updated this story. I don't have any of my stories fully planned out yet, and I ran into a bit of writer's block for this one. I hope to get back into updating more frequently so that I don't leave any of you hanging.

Written by: ConsumedByTheShadows

Throughout the year many things were changing in my life. As a six year old a lot of things should be, but there are definitely some changes that wouldn't be seen as normal by a non-magical person. There is the obvious change of my body growing taller this year. There's also the fact that my dad has decided to home school me rather than placing me into a public school. This is where things started to get interesting.

Now I knew that my dad could use magic, but he didn't do so very often. I didn't know if he preferred to do his everyday chores without it, or if it was because I was around. When he started to teach me however, he began to use it more. What was even more interesting was that he didn't need to use a wand. So far I've seen him summon objects to him, levitate other objects, and make a light appear from his hands without the use of a wand. I don't know if that's the full extent of his abilities without one, but I'm impressed either way.

One day after a math lesson I decided to question him about it. "Am I old enough now to know how you and Aunt Tania use magic?" He looked a bit surprised at my random question, but he quickly calmed and answered me. "Well your right about calling it magic, Adrian. I guess I can at least give you the basics until Tania visits again. That way she can answer anything that I don't."

Nate ushered me into his office where we sat down on comfortable chairs before he addressed me again. "Tania and I can use magic because of our parents. Magic is passed down from parent to child, which means that not everyone can use it. In fact, most of the humans on Earth aren't able to harness it at all. Sometimes a muggleborn will pop up here and there, but we can discuss that branch of thought at a later date."

I nodded to show my understanding. "Are people able to learn many kinds of things as a mage, or am I only going to be able to levitate things like I do when I'm surprised?" Nate smiled at that and said, "It's good that you're showing signs of accidental magic Adrian. You'll actually be able to use many different branches of magic once you go to school. Hogwarts is the magical school that you'll attend at the age of eleven."

I pouted at his answer. "That seems like a long time to wait for a teacher. What happens if I can't control my magic and I use it in front of a non-magic user?" Nate replied saying, "Well if that does happen then we'd have to get an Auror, that's the magical equivalent of a police officer, to take away their memories of the magical event. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but you never know what could happen in the future." I left the discussion at that, and we continued on with my next lesson.

A day passed and with it came my Aunt Tania. I began to bombard her with questions as soon as I let her into the house. "Hi Aunt Tania! How can you turn into an animal? Can dad do that too? Will you teach me how to become one?" She put her hands up as if to tell me to stop and she began to laugh. "Whoa there Adrian. At least give me a second to take my shoes off first." I backed off from my interrogation with a grin and left her to do that.

I led her into the living room and sat down next to her on our couch. Then she looked at me to start answering my questions. "So you want to know about becoming an animagus hmm? Yes your dad and I can turn into a specific animal at will. Your mom could as well, though I think you should have that talk with Nate rather than me."

My mood became somber at that statement. No one ever talks about what happened to my mom, and I haven't had the heart to ask as of yet. Tania broke the tension by continuing with her explanation. "You'd have to undergo a specific sort of training that would last quite a while before you could turn into an animal whenever you wanted. We weren't taught in Europe, however, so we weren't required to register again. I'm sure that it shouldn't be all that different from what we went through."

I nodded and replied, "I'm guessing that you'll tell me to wait until I'm older before I can learn it then?" She smirked and said, "You got it kid. You're not even a student at Hogwarts yet, so we're definitely going to wait a while longer." I sighed at her inevitable answer, and left it at that. Nate chose that moment to walk down the stairs and into the living room.

Tania got up from the couch and said, "I'll leave you both to have that talk now. I'm gonna grab myself a cup of cappuccino." My dad gave me a confused look before sitting in the seat that Tania recently vacated. "What was she talking about Adrian?" I fidgeted in my seat for a bit before voicing my answer.

"We were talking about what an animagus was, and that you, Mom, and Tania could transform into one specific animal. Dad… Could you tell me a little about Mom? I never get to hear stories about her…" Nate's face tinged with sadness at my question, and I was feeling a little guilty to cause that emotion in him. He blew out a small sigh before straightening up and beginning his tale.

 **Author Note** **:** So what do you peeps think about this so far? I did a little research and found out that wands are a more "recent" European invention and that a certain country didn't need them to carry out their spells. Although they still adopted using them since it made it easier to cast with a focus. I think I found that bit of info on Pottermore, but who knows, maybe that info isn't correct. Oh well. I thought that it was very interesting, and that it would work nicely with my plot. :)


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